Colonial Williamsburg Offers Unique Opportunity for Pharmacy Students

Apothecary Sharon Cotner stands in front of antique drug jar collection in the Pasteur & Galt Apothecary. (Photograph by Fred Blystone; courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation).

In an initiative led by AIHP Board Member Robert Buerki, Colonial Williamsburg has launched a unique opportunity for pharmacy students. Starting this summer, fourth-year Pharm.D. students may choose to complete part of their experiential rotations at the historic Pasteur & Galt Apothecary. Students will work at the Apothecary in period costume, compound eighteenth-century medicines, and educate visitors about pharmacy practice in the late 1700s. In addition to honing compounding abilities, students will also develop communication skills by explaining drugs and drug actions, which require the same skills whether discussing eighteenth-century or twenty-first-century medications.

Students will participate in this experiential rotation from 8:45 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day except Wednesdays and Fridays. First-year to third-year pharmacy students may also take advantage of this opportunity as an elective course in their Pharm.D. program. The experiential rotations at Pasteur & Galt Apothecary have been approved by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). Colonial Williamsburg may help students offset lodging expenses. Students interested in this unique opportunity should contact Robin Kipps (RKipps@cwf.org) or Sharon Cotner (SCotner@cwf.org), the Directors of the Pasteur & Galt Apothecary’s experiental rotations program, for further details about this educational opportunity.